Light has swept the darkness
by Cheri de Poisson Impressionnan
Summary: Annabeth Chase's feeling as she runs away from home to fill out her destiny of sorts. Chronicling her journey going from Virginia to Camp Half Blood. Please R/R - flames & criticism welcomed.


Erm, I needed an outlet because the dodo and Flying Spagetti Monster have stopped fighting in my brain, meaning that all comedy will be gone until I write something angsty. This is the first and about the only time ever when I will update with another story so fast x) So yeah, Annabeth's thoughts before she met Luke and Thalia. ;)

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Isn't it every girls dream to be away from her parents? I hear it. Every hallway I pass, it whispers through my ear like buzzing. Bees, just swarming in and out over and over. What is childhood – years, or from the moment of innocence. I've been the smart adult I am now, just in the form of a tiny body. I feel it rushing through my brain and I have to ditch school

Think of it, with my flaxen hair blowing in the wind getting matted by the green, green leaves clumping around me. Running. That's what I'm good at. Going off from my problems, going off from that _lady_ who dares to call me her replacement daughter, running from those ignorant brothers, running from the man whose never loved me. Going so fast I can't see the bruises and scabs on my wrists.

Monsters aren't the only things I can run away from.

No one can prove that I'm dumb anyway, right? No one, and I know I'm not. It's something my mother's given me. A brain, blonde hair, storm eyes, and my monster magnet skills. Of course not love. Love is obsolete. I can't remember my father loving me, not once. I look to others, and I see them fighting with their mothers about loving. They don't see me, I'm an owl. A great yellow barn owl stretching her wings trying to find something else. Owls push their young out of the nest to see if they can pick themselves up. I need to get up.

I find my legs have found a destination. My white uniform is scattered motley with every hue imaginable. Not that I cared, my hair had changed from flaxen to a deep yellow with dirty leaves imbedded inside. I'm standing right outside woods that I had never set my eyes on before. Green leaves with honeydew nested in the center. Steep forks in the roads. Nothing there could be more than a few decades old. A wise old raven looked at me, and nodded its head as a welcoming sign.

Like I was at a funeral.

I took the sign and ran headfirst into the woods. I can hear the animals in the back wondering who I am. If only I knew. I cross a fork in the road, and suddenly I stop. There is a lady there who has three heads. I can see the first one fine, but the other three I can only make out their hair. Around her are dead spirits that look like they are in as much pain as I am. I jerk and decide to see if my jeans can take the strain of running without breaking, but suddenly someone talks.

"I know you've been running, little wise one. Do not fret – I am not a monster nor will I hurt thee."

It's one of the heads. She's a dark redhead, and her face is so caring that I stay for a moment. I almost trust her words if not for the fact that trusting a stranger isn't wise and that she has two other heads.

I fish my pocket for something, anything that could do them harm while remaining eye contact with the girls blue eyes. My father's voice drones in my head "Annabeth, I want you to try to stop making them come to you. You know how your stepmother feels about it. Here is a knife to keep with you for anytime you need to gut a monster, or your dinner." I search around my shirt pocket and in there is a knife.

But I don't need him or the blasted knife. I can take this on my own.

I clench my fists and prepare to battle what I have to offer. _I'm not stupid and I will prove them wrong. If I die, I will die knowing I never needed Frederick Chase's help._

I hear the bones inside the shoulder switching to a new position, like an owl's does. The heads change, and the blue eyes that I was staring at was replaced by violet ones. You know the ones like Elizabeth Taylor's? Except instead of the assumed concern of the blue eyes, I see only annoyance in these.

"Child, I am no harm to you. I am Hecate, protector of the young as Artemis is. The crossroads is my place of worship, as I lead travelers to their stay." She paused and looked at her dark haired counterpart. They engage in the owl movements and I see amber eyes.

"Annabeth, I as Hecate can read every thought ever imagined – besides the most powerful Gods. I have a choice for you, young demigod. Take the path on the left and you may be as free as the owls that reside there. Take the right, and you will find more gold than Hades himself. Venture back the way you came, there will be the security of home."

I ponder this for a second and the rest is history behind my wings.


End file.
